In order to wipe out the cliché procedure in the department, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has proposed to implement E-assessment soon. While clarifying the concept, the CBDT Chief Sushil Chandra said that under the new scheme, the taxpayer will be handled by two officers which will put a full stop to the current system of handling by a single officer called AO.
CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra reportedly said that the final contours of a pan-India rollout of the scheme were being framed and that it would be launched shortly.
“The only change in the scheme is that from one individual ITO (income tax officer or the AO), the assessment team will now comprise two officers, maybe the AO, and another officer of additional or joint commissioner rank,” Sushil Chandra said.
On the Budget day Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, during his speech said that the electronic assessment of tax returns would be launched in the country, which would “almost eliminate person-to-person contact, leading to greater efficiency and transparency”. He also proposed to amend the Income-tax Act to notify a new scheme for e-assessment.
Introduction of the new system handling e-assessment by two officers will ease the conduct of task and which would increase the efficiency of return filing. Till now, only one AO is responsible for a case under assessment.
The move aims to curb corruption in the department along with harassment faced by the assessees. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative. Under the new assessment procedure, neither the assessee nor the tax officer would know the other’s identity.
The system would be equipped to deal with all kinds of tax-related matters, including the filing of returns, scrutiny cases, and others. It was said that it would also do away with the AOs’ discretionary powers to call for additional documents, records, and most importantly, ask the taxpayer to appear in person.
